slightly savvy

Slightly Savvy is an influencer's sneak peek behind the scenes of the PR world, built to deliver the most transparent PR insights to bloggers + influencers who want to transform their blog into a business.

01

02

03

As I set down for my dedicated YouTube filming day, I realized that, even though I wasn’t comfortable with tech aspect, I was going to be fine on camera.

My mom, amazing supporter that she is, says in her little southern accent, “Honey, aren’t you nervous about being in front of the camera?”

And I realized no.

I wasn’t.

I was nervous that the video would be crooked or the lighting will be bad or I would have to re-film something that took hours to film…but I wasn’t nervous about hopping on camera.

You could chalk that up to PR experience of having to be on the spot ready for interviews at literally every moment of the day – 7 AM, 9 PM after walking off the plane…not to mention prepping tons of high-level execs for their own interviews, and sitting right by them (figuratively) holding their hand throughout the entire process.

Long story short, my media experience is there.

But in high school, if you would’ve asked me to get up in front of a class or sit in front of camera and talk…my heart would’ve been pounding, hands shaking, cold sweating walking up to the front of the room.

My friend, Sheila, talked about the importance of live video in 2018 and her latest blog post, and I 110% agree.

Live video is big this year – and I do agree it’s an important wagon for bloggers to hop on.

And I also realize it can be scary for some people – it can feel like you are totally unprepared to hit that like button on Instagram, have your face come up, and all of a sudden PEOPLE are going to come stare at you via your phone and wait for you to say something interesting.

For all my bloggers and influencers, who are just a little bit nervous about getting on Instagram or Facebook live, here are the tips that I give my media prep clients before they go on interviews and TV shows.

Because we don’t roll like that here, these aren’t going to be your normal tips of like “Just be yourself!”

You’ve read that way too many times for me to waste your time writing that again.

1. Be prepared for worst-case scenario

Say you’re going to get on Facebook to do a blogging Q&A.

Well…what if no one asks questions?

Prepare your own questions.

If you’re doing a live Q&A on Instagram and no one really starts asking questions off the bat…

Instead of sitting there like internally panicking, like OMG no one is asking questions!! What do I do??

Well, grab your little piece of paper and say, “Hey, I actually wrote down a few questions I get asked all the time and until you guys can think of some questions, I’ll just answer these.”

When I media prep clients for interviews, we prepare for worst-case scenario ALWAYS.

What happens if a reporter asked a question we specifically requested to NOT ask? What if a scandal or something less than positive is brought up? What’s our answer to that?

Just this weekend, my sister called me saying that our mom sent her an ominous text, saying like, “We need to talk.”

Allie was super worried that my mom was going to have a super awkward “mom talk” with her – so as one does when your sister works in PR, we started media prepping.

I coached her through like, “Okay, what is the WORST question Mom can ask you?” And what is your response to that?”

Once we nailed that down, she was semi-relaxed when she called my mom back to talk.

Nothing like media prepping your sister to talk to your mom, right.

Figure out your absolute worst case scenario and then build a small plan that alleviates your stress on it.

2. Spend $12 on an iPhone tripod

If you can, invest in any little tripod that specifically holds a smartphone.

You can get these on Amazon for like $12, and I bought one for 2018 – aka this year of live video.

It’s a small thing, but I swear it makes your life SO much easier.

Snapping your phone into a little stand lets you be hands-free.

You can talk with your hands if that’s more natural, place the phone farther away from you, you can pick up products and show them…you’re not glued to holding your phone at a weird angle.

It just makes for a much more natural feeling on Live.

I bought this iPhone tripod here.

3. Bring in a friend to insult you

Okay, you’re definitely going to call me crazy for this one, but I swear it’s one of my best tips.

When I’m prepping clients for live media interviews, whether it be on television or online, we practice by someone sitting there and throwing insults at them.

We have someone come into our interview practice, start saying rude and insulting questions to them, and force the interviewee to answer.

No joke, every exec I’ve ever worked with said this technique literally changed their life when it came to live interviews.

Because now they feel SO prepared to handle tough or insulting or unwanted questions and a live scenario…without flinching, getting angry, or becoming flustered and messing up.

Nothing like asking your friend to come over, help you practice for Instagram Live by insulting you, right?

These techniques are might feel a bit crazy, and perhaps they are.

But I will also tell you that I went from being a fairly shy, afraid of public speaking highschooler to someone who is more than willing to hop on a live camera at a moments notice after walking off a plane at 9 PM.

Want 2 extra free email templates?

I put together another a few more templates for pitching to brands. Like I would want these email pitches in MY inbox.

Drop your email at the bottom of this post, and these will zoom to your inbox immediately!